Work on the long-delayed Strasburg bypass has begun.

An official groundbreaking is being planned for later this week, but contractor Pennsy Supply of Hummelstown has been pushing dirt around on the $6.1 million project since Oct. 20.

Strasburg Mayor Bruce Ryder laughed when asked how he felt about the project finally coming to fruition after about 15 years of planning.

"It's a big relief," he said. "It's great it's definitely moving forward."

Expected to take one year to build, the bypass is designed to divert traffic around Strasburg's busy square.

Route 896 will bear east off Decatur Street and onto Historic Drive.

Historic Drive will be extended to cross Fairview Road and Gap Road and reconnect with Georgetown Road just west of Bishop Road and the railroad museum in Strasburg Township.

The 40-foot-wide, two-lane asphalt highway will have 6-foot-wide shoulders and concrete curbs, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The project also includes upgrades to the major intersections along the route. The entire project spans about 5,400 feet of roadway — slightly more than a mile.

Ryder worried it might be shelved as recently as this past summer.

"Just before the project went out to bid, Gov. Rendell announced that there would be spending cuts at state agencies," Ryder said. "I had concern it might be affected, but it wasn't."

Ryder said a lot of people worked to make the bypass a reality. He especially credited former state Rep. John Barley and state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong.

"Several times along the way, the project was in danger of being canceled in order to divert money to other roadway projects," Ryder said. "Without the continuing support of Sen. Armstrong, that could have happened."

Ryder said Denny Pierce, former manager of Historic Strasburg Inn, had the original idea that really got the project going.

About 12 years ago, Pierce began negotiations with farmer Joe Lapp. Eventually, Historic Strasburg gave six acres of land to Lapp in exchange for just over one acre of his land needed for the bypass.

"Unless there's a way to get across Amish farmland without using eminent domain, this road could not have happened," Ryder said.

There were other hurdles for the road, and its price tag rose.

In 1996, engineers guessed the road would cost $2.5 million. That's less than half of Pennsy's low bid, which PennDOT approved Oct. 17.

Ryder said PennDOT and the contractor have assured that during construction of the bypass, detours won't cause major problems.

When Historic Drive is closed to traffic, residents will be able to drive through the Charter Homes development to get to the pharmacy and post office along the road, the Strasburg mayor said.

Also, two traffic lanes will stay open along Decatur Street and Route 741.

"When the tourist season hits, it will be that way," Ryder said. "There will be some additional impact, but it will not be alternating traffic."